what i liked about e.e. cummings
was that he cut away from
the holiness of the
word
and with charm

in the hospitals and jails
it’s the worst
in madhouses
it’s the worst
in penthouses

when you’re young
a pair of
female
high-heeled shoes
just sitting

a girlfriend came in
built me a bed
scrubbed and waxed the kitchen flo
scrubbed the walls
vacuumed

he sat naked and drunk in a room o
night, running the blade of the kn
under his fingernails, smiling, th
of all the letters he had received
telling him that

there is enough treachery, hatred
human being to supply any given ar
and the best at murder are those w
and the best at hate are those who
and the best at war finally are th

I met a genius on the train
today
about 6 years old,
he sat beside me
and as the train

naked along the side of the house,
8 a.m., spreading sesame seed oil
over my body, Jesus, have I come
to this?
I once battled in dark alleys for

225 days under grass
and you know more than I.
they have long taken your blood,
you are a dry stick in a basket.
is this how it works?

it
takes
a lot of
desperation
dissatisfaction